Sampler

4ms Company

User Manual 1.0 – June 13, 2023

for firmware v1.0

Bank Play Reverse

5 6
4 7
3 8
2 9
1 10
Pitch Sample

All
Start Pos. Length

Pitch Start Pos. Length Sample

Left RECORD Right Bank Play/Rec

Out Left Out Right End Out Reverse

SAMPLER

The Sampler is a high fidelity, two-channel stereo audio recorder and playback module. The Sampler can record
and play back high quality stereo WAV files. A maximum of 600 samples can be loaded at one time from the
removable microSD card, in a variety of formats up to 96kHz/32-bit/stereo WAV. All sample parameters (pitch,
sample file selection, length, bank, and start position) are CV controllable, and trigger jacks for play/record, and
reverse allow for synchronization.

• Stereo playback channels can play any of 600 samples

• Recording creates stereo WAV files directly onto microSD Card for immediate use
• Extremely low noise, high fidelity design
• Plays a variety of WAV files up to 32-bit/96kHz
• Records at 24-bit or 16-bit/48kHz (future firmware will support up to 96kHz)
• Intelligent file system makes loading large sample libraries easy by organizing banks into folders
• CV and controls for 1V/oct tracking, Start Position, Length, Sample selection, Bank, Reverse and
Play/Record
• Includes microSD card with Sample Pack and SD Card adaptor
Table of Contents
Setting up your Sampler ........................................................................................3
Overview ................................................................................................................3
Electrical and Mechanical Specifications ..............................................................4
Tutorial 1: Basic Playback ......................................................................................5
Tutorial 2: Navigating Banks ..................................................................................7
Quick Bank Select ...........................................................................................7
Channel Playback Volume .....................................................................................8
Stereo/Mono Mode ................................................................................................8
Tutorial 3: Recording Samples ...............................................................................8
Enabling Recording ..........................................................................................8
Start/Stop Recording .......................................................................................9
Where is my recording? ...................................................................................9
Tutorial 4: Loading Files onto the microSD Card ...................................................9
Create a bank by copying a folder of WAV files .............................................10
Folders with color names ...............................................................................11
Automatic loading of new/moved files...........................................................11
Sample List HTML file ..........................................................................................11
Example Patches
Sequencing the Sampler .....................................................................................12
Granular Scrubbing ..............................................................................................12
Clock Sync and Shifting Ping-Pong Loops .........................................................13
Advanced Features
CV Calibration ......................................................................................................14
Start-up bank .......................................................................................................14
Adjustable Fade Time (Smoother Looping) .........................................................15
System Settings File ............................................................................................15
Variable Trigger Delay / Latency ..........................................................................17
Color Adjustment Mode .......................................................................................17
Rebuilding the Index File .....................................................................................18
Updating Firmware (Audio Bootloader) ...............................................................18
What version is my Sampler? ..............................................................................18
microSD Card Specifications ...............................................................................19
File Formats .........................................................................................................19
Chart of Special Button Features ........................................................................20

Page 2 of 20
Setting up your Sampler
1. Remove the Sampler from the box and anti-static bag.
2. Connect the larger end of the power cable to a 16-pin Eurorack power header on your power
supply distribution system, with the red stripe towards the -12V. The other end of the power cable
is a 10-pin connector which should be connected to the Sampler so the red stripe on the power
cable is orientated towards the bottom of the module (the bottom is marked by a white stripe and
“-12V”). Note: The Sampler is reverse-polarity protected, but other modules being incorrectly
connected could damage anything on the power bus.
3. Backup your microSD card before you first power the Sampler on! We recommend you
perform a full backup of the microSD card by using a computer (use the included SD card adaptor
if needed). This will be useful if the card ever becomes damaged or you wish to restore the
Sampler to the original factory settings and samples.
4. Securely screw the Sampler to the rails of your case. Power the system on.
5. When the Sampler first turns on, it will scan the SD Card for WAV files. The lights will flash purple,
yellow, and other colors. When the lights stop flashing and just the Bank light is on, the Sampler is
ready to play.

Never remove the microSD card when playing or recording!

Overview
• Up to 600 samples loaded at one time (10 samples per bank)
• Includes a microSD card with over 200 samples
• Extremely quiet, low noise and low jitter design
• Firmware can be updated by playing an audio file into the Sampler

Playback channel:
• Mono or stereo output through Out Left and Out Right jacks
• Play button/trigger jack: Tapping the button or receiving a trigger starts/re-starts the sample
• When Length is set to “All”, the Play button starts/stops the sample (set in System Settings
File, see page 15)
• Sample CV/knob: selects a sample from the bank
• Pitch CV/knob: playback pitch (-9 to +4 octave range)
• Tracking: +/- 0.4cents over four octave range (C0–C3)
• Pitch jack can be calibrated to an external keyboard or sequencer
• Start Pos CV/knob: position in the sample to begin playback (loop start point)
• Length CV/knob: playback time (loop end point)
• Length knob at max: entire file is played
• Length knob 50%-99%: 200ms - 5s of the sample is played (beginning at the Start Position)
• Length knob <50%: Percussive decay envelope is applied to the playback (attack-only
envelope if playing Reverse)
• Length <1%: Tiny grains are played (can be used to sweep through sample file data
manually)
• Reverse button/jack: toggles forward/backwards
• Bank button/jack: selects channel's bank
Tip: Hold Bank and turn the Sample and/or Length knob for fast selection of bank
• Reverse+Start Pos button/knob combo allows for setting volume of each channel
independently.
• Maximum file size for playback: 4GB per file (6.2 hours per file at 48kHz/16b/stereo)

Page 3 of 20
Recording channel:
• Stereo recording can be simultaneous to operation of playback channels
• Easily record output of sample playback, “bouncing” a play session into a new sample file
• Recording initiated by button or trigger
• Record into any sample slot in any bank
• Every recording is saved as a WAV file on the microSD Card
• Recording can be disarmed to prevent accidental recordings
• 48kHz/16-bit or 48kHz/24-bit stereo recording. Future firmware versions will support 96kHz
• “Unlimited” recording time (records continuously until card is full)
• 256GB card = 16+ days of continuous recording (~400 hours)
• Long recordings are split into 4GB WAV files

File Organization:
• Includes a high-speed 16GB microSD card, loaded with over 200 samples
• Record new samples directly to banks with the Record input jacks
• Load WAV files using a computer and the intuitive bank/color organization system
• Drag folders of WAV files onto the microSD card, and each folder will become a bank
• No need to rename WAV files
• Folders starting with a color name will be loaded into that color bank
• Example "Blue - Frooty Loops" will load into the Blue bank
• Sub-folders are ignored, only folders in the root directory are scanned for WAV files
• Works best with “UHS Speed Class 3” cards with this symbol printed on the card:

Electrical and Mechanical Specifications

• 16HP Eurorack format module
• 0.98” (25mm) maximum depth
• 10-pin Eurorack power header
• Power consumption (maximums):
• +12V@145mA; -12V@39mA; +5V rail not used
• Audio Out jacks
• Out : File = -0.1dB max deviation from 20Hz - 10kHz; -3dB @ 20kHz
• 21V peak-to-peak = full scale
• Audio RECORD jacks
• File : In = max -0.1dB 20Hz-6kHz, -0.9dB @ 6kHz - 20kHz
• Out : In = max -0.1dB 20Hz-10kHz, -0.7dB @ 15kHz, -3dB @ 20kHz
• 21V peak-to-peak maximum before clipping
• Noise (unpatched In jacks): -84.3dB
• End Out jack
• +8V trigger pulse
• Pitch CV jack
• -5V to +5V range, for -5 to +5 octave shift
• Note: the Pitch jack combines with Pitch knob and sample file’s sample rate, and the
resulting pitch shift is limited to -9 octaves down and +4 octaves up
• CV jacks (Start Pos CV, Sample CV, Length CV, Bank CV)
• 0 to +5V range
• Reverse, Play , Rec jacks
• Trigger voltage must be > 1.6V, rising edge is detected
• microSD card slot accessible from front panel

Page 4 of 20
Tutorial 1: Basic Playback
Tap the PLAY button to play the currently selected sample in the currently selected
bank. Tap it multiple times to re-trigger the sample.
Play Try it now! Set the channel controls as shown:
• Pitch knob to center
• Start Pos to 0%
• Length to 100%
• Patch the OUT Left and OUT Right jacks to the left and right channels of your output
mixer. (If you only have a mono speaker, just use OUT Left).
5 6
4 7 The Sample knob selects which sample in the current bank to play. There are 10 slots
3 8 for samples per bank. Try turning the knob now. Notice that when you turn it to a new
2 9 slot number (1–10), the PLAY button flickers. This indicates you selected a new sample.
1 10 Hit the PLAY button again to play the new sample.
Sample
You also can select a sample using the Sample CV jack. It accepts voltage from 0V to
+5V, so a new sample is selected every 0.5V.
Sample

The Bank button changes banks. Tap the button to go to the next bank and notice that
the Bank button’s color changes. Each bank contains 10 samples. Go ahead and listen
to all the samples in this bank using the Sample knob to select a sample and the PLAY
Bank button to play it. Take a moment to explore a few banks, tapping the Bank button to go
to the next bank (you can go back a bank by holding Reverse while tapping Bank). For
the next step, we’re going to want a sample that will loop nicely, so pick a sample that's
at least a couple seconds long.
Bank
You also can select a bank using the Bank CV jack. It accepts voltage from 0V to 5V,
and there are 60 banks, so a new bank is selected every 1/12th of a volt. That means
you can select banks by playing a CV keyboard or sequencer into this jack: each
semitone (note) from C0 to B5 will be a different bank.

Looping
The Sampler is also great for looping Pro tip: When looping, if you move the
Looping
samples. Go to a sample that’s at least a Sample knob it’ll immediately start
Hold 0.5 sec. playing the new sample (as
couple seconds long. Press and hold the
PLAY button for half a second and the opposed to when not looping, you
button will turn blue to indicate it’s looping have to hit PLAY to hear the new
Play (blue = loop). You can let go of the PLAY sample)
button and it’ll keep repeating the sample
over and over. If at any time you want to stop looping, hold PLAY down again for about a
second and it’ll turn green or yellow to indicate the channel is playing but not looping.

Now let’s play with Pitch. Turn this knob up to make the sample play back faster and at
a higher pitch. Turn it down to play back slower and lower in pitch. The Pitch knob has a
range of 8 octaves (4 octaves up, 4 octaves down).
Pitch
The Pitch CV jack accepts voltages from -5V to +5V, which is a 10 octave range. The
jack is calibrated to 1V/oct, but we recommend calibrating to your own equipment (see
CV Calibration, page 14).

Pitch The total amount of pitch shifting when considering the jack and knob is limited to 9
octaves down and 4 octaves up.
Page 5 of 20
 Next, let’s try shortening the loop: turn the Length knob down a bit. As you turn Length
down from 100% to 50%, the length/tempo will go from the full sample file length to
under a second. From 50% to 0%, the length/tempo gets very short (~250ms down to
Length
All
~8ms), and a decay envelope is applied to make it percussive.

The Length CV jack can also be used to change the Length. It accepts voltages from 0V
to +5V.
Length

By now you should see how changing the Length moves the end point of the loop. The
starting point of the loop is set by the Start Pos. Try turning this knob to see how this
changes your loop. The knob works by percentage of sample file time: so setting Start
Start Pos. Pos to 50% will make the sample start from the half-way point. Setting Start Pos to
100% doesn't give you much sample left to play, so you’ll hear a short blip.

The Start Pos. CV jack can also be used to change the Start Pos. It accepts voltages
from 0V to +5V.
Start Pos.

Notice that changing Start Pos does not change your tempo; it shifts the
starting and ending points of the loop together, keeping a constant time.
On the other hand, Length changes the total time by changing the end
position and keeping the starting point constant.
Start Pos shifts entire
sample window (start and
end points) Let’s do an experiment and see how Pitch and Length are related to the
tempo of a loop. Set Length to 75% and turn Pitch to a few different
settings while you loop a sample. Do you see how the tempo of the loop
changes as you change Pitch? It should get shorter as Pitch gets higher.
Now set Length to about 40% and play with Pitch. Do you see how the
tempo of the loop does not change? That’s because with Length under
Length changes end point
50% the playback time is constant (regardless of Pitch). With Length
over 50%, the audio sample data that's played is constant, even though
it's stretched or shrunk. So if you set Start Pos and Length to capture a
particular part of a sample (let’s say it’s a human voice saying the word
“hello”), then as long as Length is over 50%, it will always play the word
Pitch stretches window when “hello” even as you adjust the Pitch.
Length > 50%
Pro tip: The tempo of a loop can be
Reverse harnessed by using the End
The Sampler can also play samples backwards. Out jack. This jack will fire a
Simply tap the Reverse button to toggle reverse trigger whenever the sample
Reverse or forward playback. The button will be blue loops, restarts, or stops
when it's in reverse mode, and off when it's in playing. Try patching End
forward mode. In reverse mode, it plays from the Out to a clock divider (such
ending position towards the starting position. as the RCD or QCD) for a
You also can fire a trigger into the Reverse jack sample-based master clock!
Reverse
to toggle forward/backwards play.

Try this: hit Reverse while a long sample is playing forwards. The sound will reverse
immediately and start playing backwards towards the start position. You can even keep
hitting Reverse rapidly to keep a sample “up in the air”.
When playing in reverse while Length is less than 50%, an attack-only envelope will be
applied to the playback (as opposed to the decay-only envelope applied to forward
playback with Length under 50%)
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Tutorial 2: Navigating Banks
In the first tutorial you learned that tapping the Bank button moves you to the next bank. What if you
went too far and want to go back a bank?

Prev Bank Go to Prev. Bank

Hold… and tap To move backwards by one bank, hold down the Reverse button while you tap the
Bank button. Try it now. Watch how when you go past the first bank (solid white), it
+ wraps around to the last bank (green with two blinks in the default Sampler
sample pack). What do these flashes mean? Let’s find out!
Reverse Bank

Bank Organization
The banks on the Sampler are arranged by colors. The colors are arranged somewhat like a rainbow:

White Red Orange Yellow Green Cyan Blue Magenta Lavender Pearl

As you tap the Bank button, you move

through banks in order from White to Pearl.
When you reach Pearl, it loops back around
to White, but this White is different—it blinks Starting
off every second or so. If you keep going, bank
Solid
you’ll see another White bank that blinks off
constant
twice every second. If you’re using a new blinking
Sampler with the default sample pack, the
banks are only full up until Green with two
flashes (we call this “Green 2 blinks” or
“Green-2” for short). After that, it wraps
back around to solid White. 1 blink
4 blinks

As you add samples to your card, you can

fill up a maximum of 60 banks. Since there
are 10 colors, that means each color can
have 0 (solid) to 5 flashes. At 5 flashes, the
bank button is flashing almost constantly. 3 blinks 2 blinks
Empty banks will be skipped as you cycle
through banks with the Bank button.

What if you’ve filled up your banks with

samples and you want to go from the solid
Red bank to Blue-3 (blue with 3 blinks)?
Well, you could tap the Bank button a few dozen times, but there’s a faster way.

Quick Bank Select

Go To Any Bank
To immediately jump to a specific bank, hold down the Bank
Hold… and turn… …and/or turn button while you turn the Sample and/or Length knobs. The
5 6
4 7 Sample knob selects the bank color, and the Length knob
+ 3
2
8
9
/ selects the bank blinks. The bank button will change colors
and blinks as you turn the knobs, but the bank won’t actually
Bank 1 10 All change until you release the Bank button.
Sample Length For example, to go directly to Yellow-2, hold down the Bank
color blink number button and turn the Sample knob until the light is yellow.
Keeping the Bank button down, turn the Length knob until the

Page 7 of 20
left Bank button is blinking 2 times. Release the left Bank button and it’ll jump to Yellow-2. Note that if
you turn either knob to select an empty bank, the bank button won’t change color or blinks.

The Bank CV jack can also be used to select banks. The jack responds to voltage between 0V and 5V,
which when using a keyboard, translates to 5 octaves. Since there are 60 notes (semitones) in 5
octaves, and there are 60 possible banks, the jack is essentially mapped such that each note between
C0 and C5 selects a different bank.

Note: using Quick Bank Select and Bank CV simultaneously can sometimes lead you to be on an
empty bank. If you find this happening, simply tap the Bank button to go to the next bank containing
samples.

Channel Playback Volume

Adjust Channel Playback Volume
Channel Volume There’s a hidden feature in the Sampler that lets you control the playback
Hold… and turn volume: hold down Reverse while you turn the Start Pos knob. When you
power-on the Sampler, the volume is automatically set to 100%.
+ The Reverse button will not toggle reverse/forward mode when you use this
Reverse feature. Also, the Start Pos won’t be adjusted until/unless you move the Start
Start Pos. Pos knob without the Reverse button being down.
The playback volume is not saved after power-down.

Stereo/Mono Mode
Normally a stereo file will play the left channel out of Out Left and the right channel out of Out Right.
However, if you are using a mono signal path in your patch, you may want to use Mono Mode. In this
mode, the Sampler mixes the left and right channels together and sends that to both output jacks.
Note that regardless of Stereo or Mono Mode, if you play a mono file, both jacks will output the mono
sample.

Toggle Stereo/Mono Mode

Stereo/Mono
To toggle between Stereo and Mono Modes, hold down the Bank and Play
Hold one second buttons for a second. When entering Mono mode, the Play button will flash
white/blue. When entering Stereo Mode, the Bank and Reverse buttons will
+ flash. You can tell which mode you’re in by looking at the color of the Play
Play button while playing or looping: in Mono Mode it’s green and in Stereo Mode
Bank it’s yellow. When looping the button is blue in Mono Mode and cyan in Stereo
Mode.

Tip: if you don’t want to start/restart playback when changing modes, press the Bank button first
before pressing Play.

Tutorial 3: Recording Samples

Record/Play Mode Enabling Recording

Hold 2 sec. To create a recording, you first have to enter recording mode by holding
down the Play and Reverse buttons for 2 seconds. When in recording mode,
the Play button will flash red.
+
Play Patch the audio you want to record into the Left and Right RECORD jacks.
Reverse
You should be hearing your input sound coming out the Out jacks, but it’s not
recording yet— just monitoring.

Page 8 of 20
Start/Stop Recording: Start/Stop Recording
Tap button Tap the Play button to begin recording (or fire a trigger into the Play/Rec jack). To
stop recording, tap the Play button again (or fire another trigger). Congratulations!
You just made a sample! If you were to put the microSD card into a computer now,
Play you’d see a new WAV file with your sounds on it. But let’s try playing it back first.
Exit Record mode by holding down Play and Reverse for two seconds. You
should see the Play button turn off.
Press the Play button to play what you just recorded. Levels: The Sampler is made for modular-
level signals. For the best quality,
Where is my recording? use a line-to-modular level
The sample you recorded is automatically loaded into converter module. Even a low-cost
whatever bank the Bank button was displaying and “input” module such as the 4ms
whatever slot the Sample knob was pointing to when you Listen IO will greatly increase the
started recording. So, if you happened to change banks or quality of line-level recordings from
turn the Sample knob while recording, you need to go a desktop synth, guitar pedal, etc.
back in order to play your sample.

Saving new samples into slots

When you record a sample, the WAV file is saved on the microSD card, and the Sampler temporarily
assigns it to a bank/slot.
The information telling the Sampler which sample file is assigned to which slot in the bank is not
saved to the microSD card until you save it.

Save Changes To save the sample bank/slot assignment information, hold down all
to sample slots and settings three buttons for three seconds. When the lights turn white, you can
Hold all buttons 3 seconds
release them. The buttons will go back to their normal colors after
the operation is complete.
Why doesn’t the Sampler just save your sample slot assignment
+ + information automatically when you record? The reason is that you
Play might have recorded over a slot that you didn’t mean to, or you
Bank Reverse might not like any of your takes and decide not to keep them.

Tutorial 4: Loading Files onto the microSD Card

The Sampler has an intelligent and intuitive sample file
management system. You can do everything in several different
ways, depending on your preferences.

Unlike many other samplers, you never have to rename your files
for the Sampler. You can simply drag your sample files into
folders and the Sampler will load them into banks. This makes
loading a huge sample library a breeze.

Included with your Sampler is an SD Card adaptor that fits any

computer with a SD Card slot. If your computer lacks this slot,
you need to purchase a microSD to USB adaptor.

First, make sure you’re not playing or recording and power

down. Remove the microSD card and insert it into the adaptor in
your computer. The microSD card should show up as a drive on
your computer, similar to what’s shown on the right:

Each of these folders contain WAV files. Think of each folder as

a bank.

Page 9 of 20
Create a bank by copying a folder of WAV files
To create a new bank with your own samples, simply drag/copy a folder containing WAV files onto the
root level of the Sampler microSD card. The WAV files must be directly inside the folder. Folders inside
folders (sub-folders) will be ignored by the Sampler.

Above: copying a folder of 10 WAV files onto the Sampler microSD card. The folder
starts with the word “Green” so it will get loaded into the Green bank. The files will be
loaded in alphabetical order into slots 1 – 10.

You can copy as many folders full of WAV files as you like, but only 60 banks can be loaded at once.
You could also copy sample(s) to an existing folder if it has less than 10 samples in it.

If you remove a file from a folder, then the Sampler won’t be able to find that file and will try to find a
new file to fill that slot. The first place it will look is the original file’s folder. What this means is that if
you don’t like a particular sample, you can delete the file and replace it with a new file. The Sampler
won’t find the deleted file, and it will load the new file instead. In complex cases, such as when you
have banks containing samples spanning multiple folders, the Sampler will try to fill the empty slots in
each bank by searching in the folder of the lowest-numbered sample’s file location.

Page 10 of 20
Folders with color names
If you name the folder starting with a color name from the list on page 7, the folder will automatically
be loaded into the bank of that color! Example: “Orange - My Field Recordings” will be loaded into the
Orange bank. What if there’s already an Orange bank? It’ll get bumped to Orange-1 (that’s Orange
with one blink). And if Orange-1 exists, it’ll get bumped to Orange-2, etc…
Here are the valid color names:

White Red Orange Yellow Green Cyan Blue Magenta Lavender Pearl

You can type the color names in ALL CAPS, all lower case, or with Initial Capital Letters. After the color
name you can write any ASCII characters. The Sampler does not support emojis or unicode ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Automatic loading of new/moved files

When you put the microSD card back into the Sampler and power it back up, the Sampler will
recognize any new folders and will create a new bank for each one. The first 10 WAV files inside that
folder (alphabetically) will be loaded into the 10 slots of the bank. If there are more than 10 WAV files in
a folder, only 10 will be loaded. Remember, sub-folders are ignored, so only WAV files directly in the
folder will be scanned.
Also, missing files will be searched for and/or replaced by new files inside existing folders.

Sample List HTML file

After you’ve made changes to the
microSD card using a computer, the
next time you boot the Sampler with
that card, the module will create a file in
the root level of the microSD card called
__Sample List__.html

This is a handy quick reference for seeing what

files are in what banks and how long each sample
is. So if you are ever wondering which samples
are assigned to which slots in which banks, open
this up and it’ll tell you! You might even want to
email it to your phone, or print it out so you have it
nearby if you want to look something up.

_STS.system folder
Inside the _STS.system folder is a file called
settings.txt . This file contains some advanced
settings. You can change the settings using a text
editor. The syntax is simple and documented at
the top of the file.
See the System Settings File section on page 15.

If you are a serious hacker familiar with various

domain-specific languages, then you may wish to
open the sampler_index.dat file. This is a plain-text file containing the path to each of the WAV files
and which banks and slots they are assigned to.

It’s a good idea to backup the _STS.system/ folder onto your computer before making
changes! While no real damage can occur, the worst case is that all your banks have different colors.
Your actual sample files will never be changed.

Page 11 of 20
Example Patches

Sequencing the Sampler

The Sampler works well with a standard CV/Gate sequencer.

The Trigger or Gate output of the Sequencer is patched to the Play/Rec trigger input of the Sampler.
This makes the sample fire on each sequencer step. Some sequencers have gate repeat effects,
which will make the Sampler fire a sample multiple times per step.

The CV output of the sequencer is patched to any of the CV inputs on the Sampler. If you want to use
the sequencer to control pitch (playing a sample at various pitches), patch into the Pitch jack.
If you want a “multi-timbral” effect, patch the CV output into the Sample CV jack. Each step of the
sequencer can trigger a different sample to play.
If you have a sequencer with 2 or more CV outputs, you can even sequence both pitch and sample
selection at once!

You can also select “slices” of a long sample by running the Sequencer into the Start Pos. CV jack.
Each step of the sequencer can thus play a different slice of the original sample.

Sampler as the clock source: End Out->Clock In

One variation of this patch is to use the Sampler itself to clock the sequencer by patching End Out to
the Sequencer’s clock input. Make sure to set the sequencer to run on external clock.
To start the patch, hit Play on the Sampler once. The End Out will fire, thus clocking the sequencer,
which starts a sample on the Sampler, which fires an End Out when it finishes, which advances the
sequencer, etc… The Length control on the Sampler will control the tempo, which will vary with each
step if the samples are of different lengths. Try this patch with the Sequencer CV out into the Sample
CV.

Note: if the patch seems to run for a moment and then stop, the gate pulse width on the sequencer is
probably preventing it from firing new steps. Either reduce PW to triggers or hold Play on the Sampler
for half a second to loop.

Clock Divided Reverse

Try splitting/mult’ing End Out and running it to Reverse. Or patch End Out into a clock divider and
use the divisions to reverse playback every N steps.

Granular Scrubbing
Since the Sampler can play fragments of a sample as small as a few milliseconds, it can be used for
some basic granular synthesis techniques such as granular scrubbing. This can be used for a variety
of sounds, including time-stretching (without changing pitch), and pitch-shifting (without modifying
playback time).

The simplest way to play with granular scrubbing on the Sampler is to load a familiar sample: a drum
loop or a vocal sample, perhaps. For starters, pick a sample that’s between 1 and 10 seconds long.

1. Turn Start Pos and Length to 0%.

2. Hold PLAY to make the Sampler loop. You should hear a buzzy tone.
3. Slowly turn the Start Pos knob up, and listen how the sample is played (scrubbed). Start Pos is
essentially sweeping the play head.

Page 12 of 20
4. Now turn Start Pos down slowly. The sample should play backwards! Notice that no matter how
fast you turn Start Pos, the pitch does not change. That is, you can play the sample faster or
slower without changing its pitch. This is time-stretching in its most basic form.
5. Now turn Length up a tiny bit. Hear how the buzzy overtone changes? Length is setting the size
of the grains.
6. Let’s use an LFO to sweep through the sample so you don’t have to do it by hand. Patch a very
slow ramp-up LFO into the Start Pos CV jack. A Pingable Envelope Generator, a MiniPEG, or
any of the EnvVCA family of modules are great for this. The period of the LFO will equal the
playback time, so make the LFO’s period is several seconds long. Make sure the Start Pos knob is
back at 0. For full range, the ramp-up LFO should be 0V to +5V. Attenuate or shift as needed: any
voltage under 0V or over +5V will make playback “hang”. When the LFO is exactly 0V to +5V, you
should hear the entire sample being played forwards. Adjust the LFO speed to adjust the playback
speed. Also, you can attenuate the LFO and/or adjust the Start Pos knob to select certain portions
of the sample to playback.
7. Try different LFO wave shapes: ramp-down will play the sample backwards, triangle will play it
forwards-backwards, curved waves will play it at variable speeds (constant pitch).
8. Next, let’s get rid of that buzzy overtone. Patch a random LFO (or a simple triangle if you don’t
have a random source) into an attenuator module. Attenuate the signal heavily, down to about
+0.5V max. Patch the attenuated random LFO/noise into the Length CV jack. Make sure the
Length knob is turned all the way back down. The overtone should now be randomized enough
that it disappears. Adjust the attenuation and/or random speed and/or Length knob to suit your
taste.
9. To change pitch without changing the playback time, simply adjust the Pitch knob (or use the
Pitch jack). Since the playback time is set by the LFO in Start Pos CV, you can freely adjust Pitch
without changing the timing. Likewise, you can adjust the playback timing without adjusting the
Pitch.

Random Grains
Scrubbing involves playing the grains in order, but you also can play grains in random order. Patch the
random LFO into Start Pos CV instead of Length CV, and don’t attenuate it as much (or at all). Then
you can leave Length CV unpatched, or patch some other LFO into it to vary the grain sizes.

Clock Sync and Shifting Ping-Pong Loops

Find a sample with rhythmic elements. Hold Play to make it loop. Turn down Length to between 50%
and 90% to make a shorter loop that you like.

Clock Sync:
Run a clock into the Play Jack to sync the loop to the clock. If the loop is shorter than the clock, the
sample will loop until the next clock.

Shifting Loop:
Patch a very slow LFO into Start Pos CV. Each time the loop ends, it’ll start in a new position, based
on where Start Pos CV is at the moment the sample re-starts.

Ping-Pong:
Patch End Out into Reverse to play the loop forward/backwards/forward/backwards

Page 13 of 20
Advanced Features

CV Calibration

CV Calibration The Sampler’s Pitch jack is factory-calibrated to respond at 1V/octave.

Hold 2 seconds However, there is a lot of variation amongst equipment, so if you want the
Sampler to be in tune, we highly recommend calibrating the Pitch jack to your
own equipment. Anytime you patch a different sequencer, keyboard, or
+ controller into the Pitch jack (and you will be wanting the tuning to be accurate),
you should re-calibrate.
Bank Reverse

Calibration is quick and easy:

1. Unpatch the Pitch jack. It must be unpatched because part of the calibration routine is measuring
the “offset” voltage when no CV is being input.
2. Next, hold down Bank and Reverse for one second. The lights will all turn blue. If they turn red,
then you forgot to unpatch the Pitch jack.
3. Patch your sequencer, keyboard, or controller into the Pitch jack.
4. Play a C2 (2.00V)
5. Press Play. The lights will turn magenta. If they turn red and then go back to normal colors, then
the voltage read was not close to 2.00V. Verify this voltage and try again. Note that some
controllers output 2.00V at C0 or some other octave, so consult your controller’s manual or try
various octaves.
6. Play a C4 (4.00V)
7. Press Play. The lights will turn green and fade back to normal colors. If they turn red, then read the
note on step 5 and try again.

If you saw the lights turn green, then your calibration has been saved. The calibration will persist even
after power down.

Calibrating CV jack offset

For the other four CV jacks besides Pitch, calibration is not normally necessary. However, in
exceptional circumstances (using a noisy power supply, for example), you may want to calibrate the
offset of these jacks. To do so, unpatch all CV jacks and enter CV Calibration mode as described
above. Making sure all four CV jacks are unpatched, quickly press and release the Bank and Reverse
buttons at the same time again. These two buttons should flash green and then return to blue,
indicating that calibration of these jacks is complete. At this point, you can continue the Pitch
calibration routine (starting at step 3), or you can press Play immediately to exit.

Start-up bank
You can set the default bank to be loaded at start-up by editing the settings.txt file on the SD Card.
Look for a section that looks like this:

[STARTUP BANK CHANNEL 1]

15

Edit the number (15 in the above example, but it might be any number on your unit), setting it to the
number value of the bank you want the Sampler to start-up in.
For an example, See the System Settings File section page 15.

Page 14 of 20
Adjustable Fade Time (Smoother Looping)
The Sampler performs a fade at the beginning and end of a sample, and a crossfade when looping.
This essentially adds an envelope to the playback. There are two types of envelopes:
• Fade in/out envelopes: this is a very short envelope applied to the beginning and end of
playback when Length is over 50%. It reduces clicks when starting, stopping, or looping,
especially when starting or ending in the middle of a sample file.
• Percussive envelopes: this is the decay envelope applied to playback when Length is less
than 50% (if Reverse is on, it’s an attack envelope). This envelope gives the playback a
“percussive" sound.

You can adjust the amount of Fade Time for the fade in/out envelopes by
Fade Time
holding down Reverse while turning the Length knob. If you turn Length all
Hold… and turn the way down, Fade Time will be 0 and envelopes will be disabled. The Fade
Time will increase as you turn the knob up, until it reaches 39ms when the
+ knob is fully clockwise.
All
No changes to Fade Time will be saved after you power down unless you
Reverse Length perform a Save by holding down all three buttons for five seconds (See Saving
New Samples into slots, page 9).
While the maximum Fade Time you can set by holding down Reverse and turning Length is 39ms,
you can actually set Fade Time to be longer than this by editing the settings.txt file and entering a
value up to 255 (corresponding to 255ms). See the System Settings File section below.

Percussive envelope time is set by the Length knob and CV, not by Fade Time. However, percussive
envelopes will be turned off whenever Fade Time is 0.
Keep in mind that when Fade Time is set to 0, playback may click and pop. This is not normally a
desired setting. However, turning off envelopes is often preferred when doing "Granular" patches (see
page 12), or when playing CV sample files (.wav files with clocks/gates, sequencer CV, or slow LFOs,
etc).

System Settings File

On the SD Card there is a file called settings.txt, which lives in the _STS.system folder. If you are
familiar with editing settings files and wish to change how your Sampler operates, you may edit this
file with a plain text editor. The file is meant to compatible with the 4ms Stereo Triggered Sampler, so
not all options are available for the Sampler (for instance, nothing regarding channel 2 is meaningful
on the Sampler).
After editing the file, save it as plain text. If you try to save it as RTF or as a docx or anything that
contains formatting, HTML, markup, or anything other than ASCII characters, the Sampler will not
load the file and will restore default settings.

[STEREO MODE]
Possible values: stereo, mono
Default value: stereo
Selects Stereo or Mono Mode on startup. See Stereo/Mono Mode section, page 8

[RECORD SAMPLE BITS]

Possible values: 16, 24
Default value: 16
Sets the bit depth for recording.

[RECORD SAMPLE RATE]

Not used on the Sampler (future firmware version will support it)
Page 15 of 20
[AUTO STOP ON SAMPLE CHANGE]
Possible values: Yes, No, Looping Only
Default value: Yes
Yes: changing to a new sample always stops/restarts playback
No: changing to a new sample never interrupts playback
Looping Only: changing to a new sample restarts playback only when looping

[PLAY BUTTON STOPS WITH LENGTH AT FULL]

Possible values: Yes, No
Default value: Yes
Yes: Play buttons act as start/re-start, unless Length is at 100%, then they act as start/stop
No: Play buttons always act as start/re-start sample

[QUANTIZE CHANNEL 1 1V/OCT JACK]

Possible values: Yes, No
Default value: No
Whether or not the Pitch CV jack is quantized to semitones

[QUANTIZE CHANNEL 2 1V/OCT JACK]

Not used on the Sampler

[SHORT SAMPLE PERCUSSIVE ENVELOPE]

Not used on the Sampler. Percussive envelopes can be disabled by setting FADE TIME to 0.

[CROSSFADE SAMPLE END POINTS]

Not used on the Sampler. Crossfading can be disabled by settings FADE TIME to 0 (see below).

[STARTUP BANK CHANNEL 1]

Possible values: any number from 0 to 59, specifying which bank to jump to when powering up.
The ones digit of the bank number equals color of the bank, with 0 = White, 1 = Red, … 9 = Pearl.
The tens digit of the bank number equals the number of blinks (ranging from 0 to 5).
Therefore 3 means Yellow (no blinks), and 41 means Red-4 (four blinks).

[STARTUP BANK CHANNEL 2]

Not used on Sampler

[TRIG DELAY]
Possible values: any whole number between 1 and 20, which sets the trigger delay in milliseconds.
Default: 8 (which is 8ms).
This is the amount of delay automatically added after a trigger is received on the Play/Rec trigger
jack, before the Pitch CV and Start Pos CV jacks are read and the sample is played. This delay allows
the Sampler to work with sequencers and keyboards which output a gate before the CV stabilizes at a
voltage.

[FADE TIME]
Possible values: any number between 0 and 255 which translates to a fade time in milliseconds. The
value of 0 means no crossfading will happen.
Default: 24 (which is 24ms).
See the section Adjustable Fade Time on page 15 for an explanation of this feature.
This value can also be controlled on the Sampler by holding Reverse and turning Length.

[AUTO INCREMENT REC SLOT ON TRIG]

Not used on the Sampler (future firmware version will support it).

Page 16 of 20
Variable Trigger Delay / Latency
You can enable a Trigger Delay for the Play Trig jack. This adds a 1–20ms delay after a trigger is
received on the Play Trig jack. This feature is useful to compensate for slew/lag when using a CV
sequencer with the Sample CV and/or Pitch CV jacks. The Sampler will read the voltages on the
Sample CV and Pitch CV jacks after the Trigger Delay period, and then it will start playback. Adding
this extra delay allows for the voltage to “settle”.

To set the Trigger Delay, edit the settings.txt file and change the number in this section:

[TRIG DELAY] Pro tip: If you play a sample and

8 then move the Start Pos
more than +/-3 seconds, the
If you wish to have the least amount of latency, set this to “1”. If sample file data starting at
you wish to have the maximum amount of compatibility with all the new Start Pos will have
sequencers, set this to “8” or above. The default value is “8”. to be loaded into the cache
again.
A bit of technical explanation regarding latency: Each sample slot
has its own ultra-fast RAM cache that’s about 3 seconds. Once the samples in the bank have been
loaded into the cache, you can trigger any of the 10 samples in a bank with very low latency. The only
limitation is that only the first 3 seconds of a sample file are loaded into the cache (the 3 seconds start
at the Start Pos position). The process of loading into the cache typically adds 5ms to the latency, on
the very first time a sample is played after changing banks. After the sample has been played once,
the latency will be 0.7ms for all future times.

Color Adjustment Mode

You can fine-tune the colors of the buttons and save the adjustment values in non-volatile memory.
Normally this is done at the factory, but you may wish to make adjustments if you have multiple
Sampler modules and want the Bank button colors to match exactly between modules.
1. Power off. Make sure a valid SD Card is inserted.
2. Hold down the Play and Reverse buttons and power on.
3. When the Play button starts flashing, release the buttons.
4. Press Play repeatedly until each of the three buttons has turned red, green, and then blue. Then,
press Play three more times as each button turns white. In total, you will have pressed Play 13
times.
5. At this point, Play will be solid green (not flashing). Press and hold it for five seconds to enter Color
Adjustment Mode. The button will turn off and then after five seconds it will turn back on. Release
the button.
6. Turn the Sample knob all the way down.
7. Tap the Bank button. This selects it to be calibrated.
8. Turn the Pitch, Start Pos, and Length knobs to adjust the red, green, and blue amounts,
respectively. When a knob is centered, no adjustment is made. Turning it to the right of center
increases that relative amount of that hue. Turning it to the left of center decreases the relative
amount of that hue.
9. Adjust the knobs until the color looks good.
10. Turn the Sample knob to each position 1 - 10 to cycle through all 10 bank colors. Verify the Bank
button’s bank colors look good. If not, adjust the Pitch, Start Pos, and Length knobs.
11. When you’re happy with the colors, you can optionally tap Play and/or Reverse to calibrate their
colors. Note that only the green and blue can be calibrated for these two buttons.
12. To save changes, hold down Play for four seconds until it turns green. On the other hand, if you
wish to cancel, hold down Reverse for four seconds.
13. Power off.
Note: The colors of the buttons will not match each other, and this is normal and to be expected. Do
not try to adjust the colors of a button to match another button on the same Sampler module. The
Page 17 of 20
only legitimate purpose for this mode is to match colors between two different modules or to make
minor adjustments in relative brightness between buttons on the same module.

Rebuilding the Index File

The Sampler keeps track of the name of the sample file assigned to each bank/slot in a file called
sample_index.dat (aka “the index file”), located in the _Sampler.system folder. If you wish to revert the
Sampler to the factory organization, there is a factory original file located in a folder within the system
folder, follow the instructions in the “How To” text file in that folder.
If you wish to clear all file organization, you can simply delete the index file (back it up first, please!).

Updating Firmware (Audio Bootloader)

You can update the Sampler firmware by playing a special audio file into the Record jack. When new
firmware versions are released, the firmware audio files can be downloaded at
https://4mscompany.com/sampler

1. To enter bootloader mode, power off the Sampler and connect a computer or smart phone
audio output to the Left Record jack. Either a stereo or mono cable is fine. Connect the Out
Right jack to an amp/speakers so you can listen.
2. Set the computer/phone's volume to 50%. You may need to adjust it up or down if this is too
loud or quiet (see step 6). Unlike other 4ms modules, the Sampler’s bootloader is designed to
work with consumer line-level signal (a peak-to-peak voltage of a little under 1V is ideal, or
-10dbV). Turn off all audio notifications that might interrupt playback.
3. Depress the Bank and Reverse buttons while powering on the Sampler. When you see either
button blink, release the buttons.
4. If the Reverse and Play buttons are blinking red, press the Play button. Play will start blinking
slowly (twice per second) to indicate the module is now ready to receive firmware.
5. Begin playing the file. Immediately you should see Bank turn on and Play and Reverse start
flashing blue, white, cyan, and/or purple. Do not interrupt the process!
6. The color of the Bank button tells you if the audio is too loud or quiet. Green is the ideal
volume. Cyan, blue, or off indicates the audio is too quiet. Yellow or red indicates it’s too loud.
7. If there’s an error, Play and Reverse will blink red rapidly. The Bank button will continue to
indicate the audio level, so this is a good time to verify the level is ideal and adjust the output
level as needed. Verify the cable is not loose, all sounds/vibrate/notifications are off, and that
you have downloaded the audio file completely (avoid streaming or playing from the browser).
Stop the audio file, reset it back to the start, and tap the Play button to reset. The Inf. Hold
button should blink slowly. Play the file from the beginning again.
8. If the file loads successfully, Play and Reverse will blink in a rainbow pattern. Press Play start.

The open-source licensed source files (in C++, for compiling with arm-none-eabi-gcc) can be found at
https://www.github.com/4ms/sampler

What version is my Sampler?

To view the firmware version, power on the Sampler with an SD Card installed. When startup is
complete (all lights stop blinking), remove the SD Card and insert it into a computer. Open the file
named “__Sample List__.html”. The firmware version is written at the top of the file.

Page 18 of 20
microSD Card Specifications
• We include the ideal type of card to use with the Sampler. If you need to buy an additional card,
we highly recommend that you purchase the same class of card. The Sampler works best with
a UHS Speed Class 3 card (also known as U3, which is the fastest of the UHS-I type cards).
• Look for this symbol printed on the card:
• Example card: SanDisk Extreme microSDHC UHS-1 Card (advertised as “Read up to 60MB/sec,
Write up to 40MB/sec”)
• If “UHS Speed Class 3” is not available, a “Class 10” card is acceptable (booting will be slower,
and there may be more latency when playing 96kHz/32-bit/stereo files at high Pitch settings)
• A Class 10 card will be slower than a UHS Class 3 card. A class 6 or
class 4 will be even slower than the class 10. If you are not using the
Sampler to record long samples, and you only playback 44.1kHz/16bit
samples, then even the slowest microSD Card available will work fine. However, we still
recommend purchasing a high-quality microSD Card, as cheaper cards are not as reliable and
may result in loss of your data.
• See https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/speed_class/ for a discussion on micro SD
Card speeds and labeling
• Never remove the microSD card while the Sampler is playing or recording.

How to prepare a new microSD Card

• Purchase a UHS Class 3 card (see above)
• Format the card as ExFAT (preferred) or FAT32
(acceptable). See screenshot (right) for how to
set MacOS standard “Disk Utility” program.
• Verify all sample files are valid WAV files (see
file format specifications below)
• Put your WAV files into folders to organize them
into banks (preferably 10 WAV files per folder)
• Each new folder found will represent a bank.
You can name the folders beginning with
the name of a color (such as “Yellow-field
recordings”) to force that folder to load into
a particular color bank.
• Sample files must be located directly in the root directory, or in a folder. Folders inside
folders (sub-folders) are never scanned by the Sampler.

File Formats
The Sampler recognizes the vast majority of WAV files. Verify that your files meet the following criteria
(all others will be ignored):
• Format: WAVE
• Bit depth: 32-bit float; 16, 24, 32-bit signed; 8-bit unsigned
• Channels: Stereo or Mono
• Sampling rate: 8kHz to 96kHz
• File name: Must end in .wav or .WAV
• Folders: files must be in a root-level folder (sub-folders are ignored)
• Limitation on file names: The maximum file name plus full path cannot be more than 80
characters. File names that are longer in 80 characters (including the “.wav”, the folder name,
plus a “/“ for the separator) will be ignored.

Page 19 of 20
Chart of Special Button Features
Playback:
Looping Stereo/Mono Channel Volume
Hold 0.5 sec. Hold one second
Hold… and turn

+ +
Play Play
Bank Reverse
Start Pos.

Navigating Banks:

Next Bank Prev Bank Go To Any Bank

Hold… and tap Hold… and turn… …and/or turn
5 6

+
4 7

+ 3
2
8
9
/
Bank Reverse Bank 1 10 All
Bank
Sample Length
color blink number

Recording:

Record/Play Mode Start/Stop Recording

Hold 2 sec.

+ Play
Play
Reverse

Settings:

Fade Time Save Changes CV Calibration

to sample slots and fade time
Hold… and turn Hold 2 seconds
Hold all buttons 3 seconds

+ + + +
Reverse Length
All Play
Bank Reverse Bank Reverse

Bootloader:

Bootloader Mode
Hold while powering on

+
Play
Reverse
Page 20 of 20